


The Smallest Distance Between Two Points

by checkerboardom



Series: The Flashpoint Paradox [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Eobard Ruins Everything, Especially For Barry, Flashpoint (DCU), M/M, Sensation Play, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 15:40:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8062087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/checkerboardom/pseuds/checkerboardom
Summary: "You're upset," Eobard observes, unnecessarily given that Cisco takes several steps back to put space between them."Gee, I couldn't imagine why." He says, sarcasm lacing his words and Eobard gives him this look, as if he expects better of him.





	

Eobard is waiting for him outside of the lab,  bathed in the light of one of the light posts for what Cisco assumes is dramatic effect.

"You look like a B movie villain." Cisco tells him in greeting and Eobard smiles. It reminds him of a shark out for blood. "Are you going to take me home?"

"Did you want to walk?" Eobard asks in reply and Cisco frowns at him. Taking the expression as answer enough, Cisco soon finds himself caught up in a whirlwind that ends just as soon as it begins, the air snatched from his lungs before he's set back on his feet in his living room -- Thawne's living room in another life.

"You're upset," the older man observes, unnecessarily given that Cisco takes several steps back to put space between them.

"Gee, I couldn't imagine why." He says, sarcasm lacing his words and Eobard gives him this look, as if he expects better of him.

"I warned you about Barry." Eobard reminds him, leveling him with a serious look. "I'm not the author of your pain, Cisco. Tell me, why did you create Ramon Industries?"

"Because I wanted to create things that made the world a better place." He answers automatically and Eobard shakes his head, a fond smile gracing his face.

"I am not a news reporter in one of your frequent interviews. You and I both know that your reason was a lot more selfish than wanting to better the world through technology."

Cisco inwardly flinches, biting his lip as the true answer to Eobard's question makes itself known. "My brother died. The authorities said it was a freak accident, but I was there. I knew better."

Eobard's smile is entirely too satisfied. "You wanted to understand what happened to him. You molded your whole life to figure out how he died and when you finally had your answer, it wasn't enough because it wouldn't bring him back."

His words sting, like a knife at the heart of him, opening up a wound that he'd thought was finally healed. It's this pain that puts strength behind the punch he aims at Eobard, but the other man simply catches his arm and pushes him back until his back meets the wall.

"You thought you'd finally moved on from Dante's death." Eobard continues as Cisco takes in a shuddering breath. "You built an empire for yourself and sponsored a hero to ensure that no one else died like your brother, but now none of that matters because he'd still be alive if it weren't for Barry Allen."

"That's awfully rich coming from the man that killed Barry's mother." He snaps back.

"And that is where you're wrong, my clever, clever boy." Eobard says, rocking on his heels. "Barry was always meant to be the Flash, he was always meant to be my greatest nemesis and the only way for that to happen was if I created him. Nora Allen's death is what inspires Barry to become a forensic analyst. Nora Allen's death is what puts him in the right place at the right time for the lightening strike that creates  the Flash. Nora Allen's death is the catalyst to the Flash's birth and without her sacrifice, time cannot, will not, be set right."

"On the other Earth, Earth Two, Nora lived and Barry never became the Flash. Zoom turned Central City into a war zone." His tongue feels thick in his mouth, but he knows he has the right idea when Eobard smiles. Suddenly a thought occurs to him. "You're going to fix the timeline."

Eobard dips his head in a nod and Cisco tilts his head back against the wall, breathing deep.

"How long do we have?"

Eobard hums, breath dancing over the bared skin of his neck. "A day at the most."

"And when this timeline ends, we'll be enemies again." Cisco concludes, gaze meeting Eobard's own. He must convey his meaning clearly because Eo chuckles and leans down to press a kiss to the hollow of his throat. The scrape of stubble is a welcome itch, blood rushing in his ears as Eobard nips at his pulse point. Bringing his hands up, he places them on the other man's shoulders, guiding him to the ground before him. Eobard continues his work there, one hand pushing up his shirt as the other pops the button on his pants, all the while laying gentle kisses along his abdomen.

When he finally has him free of his boxer briefs he presses a kiss to the head of his cock, before pulling him down into his lap. It's an awkward position at first, but then Cisco has Eobard's cock free, fingers quickly growing slick with precum as his mouth is captured in a kiss. It's needy and rough, teeth nipping at his bottom lip before Eobard swallows his gasp. His right hand joins Cisco's in their laps, adding more friction and pressure and the other tangles in Cisco's hair, pulling his head back so that he can resume marking his throat.

Eobard guides his hand with his own, tightening his fingers on every up stroke before loosening them down and Cisco's breath stutters in his chest. He needs more -- more heat, more friction -- but he isn't sure how to ask.

In the end, he doesn't need to, because Eobard reads him like an open book and before he knows it, they're on his bed, Cisco on his back as Eobard slots himself between his legs. He squeezes lube into his palm before taking both of them in hand again and now the slide is smooth. Pinpricks of heat crawl up his spine, the muscles of his abdomen fighting as his release come closer with each stroke, but then Eobard hand is gone, leaving his breathless and shivering.

"Please," He says and he's never been so close to begging before now, voice wrecked and needy.

Above him Eobard chuckles, hand cupping his jaw. Cisco leans into the gesture, sucking the other man's thumb briefly into his mouth as he pulls Eobard closer. Still, Eobard pulls back, gaze taking him in hungrily.

"Touch yourself for me." He tells him and Cisco's chest tightens as he guides his hand down to his cock, stroking and twisting with a familiar flick of his wrist. It's not nearly as good as having someone else's hand on him, but he gets lost in it as well, gaze tracking Eobard as he moves further down the bed. The first shock comes when Eobard grabs his ankle, pulling it into his lap as his fingers dance over the sole of his foot. It sends a jolt up his spine, his automatic response being to pull his foot free, but Eobard holds him in place and uses his free hand to continue stroking the flat of his foot. His eyes are intent on Cisco's response, grip tightening every time Cisco begins to flinch away.

Despite how odd it feels, he finds that it only adds to the wave of pleasure that's coursing through him, although it's not enough to bring him to completion.

As if sensing his thoughts, Eobard meets his gaze and smiles. "I want you to count to fifty, pet." He tells him and Cisco nods, breath coming in soft pants. He starts counting silently, but that only prompts Eobard to stop what he's doing and Cisco nearly whines. "Start over, this time out loud."

And Cisco does, each stroke of his hand upon his cock corresponding with a number. When he gets to forty, he stutters to a halt, toes curling with the need for release, but Eobard simply takes a firm hold of him until the feeling subsides, the fingers of his other hand still stroking over the bottom of his foot with feather light touches.

"Continue." He tells him once Cisco has caught his breath again and Cisco does as he's told, resisting the urge to bite his lip. Each stroke along his cock is a new wave of pleasure, anticipation building as he nears the end of his countdown.

When he reaches fifty, the word is nearly a sob, his entire body tightening as he comes. Eobard replaces his hand and pulls him through it, strokes quick and sure as Cisco shakes down to his core. The burst of pleasure that travels through him is nearly explosive, curses falling from his lips until he's pliant and exhausted. He barely notices Eobard finish against his hip, his cum joining the mess on Cisco's stomach. He simply closes his eyes and let sleep pull him under, the feeling of a damp towel traveling over his skin lulling him into oblivion.

…

When he wakes up, it's to the shrill ring of his phone. He barely has time to open his eyes before a gust of wind is blowing through his room and Barry Allen is standing at the foot of his bed dressed as the Flash.

"I need your help." He says when Cisco squints at him, eye not having adjusted to the morning light streaming through his window. It's the desperation in the hero's voice that gets him up despite the exhaustion that's still pulling at his limbs and before  he can blink there's a hoodie and jeans on the bed and a speedster nearly vibrating out of his skin at the foot of his bed.

"What happened?" He asks as he pulls the clothing on, forgoing finding a shirt and simply zipping the hoodie up higher than he normally would.

"Wally needs our help." Barry says. "There's no time to explain but you have to trust me, okay?"

Cisco opens his mouth to reply, but the air is snatched from his lungs as Barry picks him up and races away. He sets him down on Central Ave, loose bits of asphalt digging into his feet and Cisco really needs to make a rule about speedsters zooming him around. But that thought is banished from his mind as he looks around. The scene that greets him is something straight out of a nightmare, Kid Flash's limp form dangling from the Reverse Flash's hand before the villain drops him to the ground below.

Barry is gone again before Wally hits the ground, two streaks of lightning racing and colliding in a battle that's too fast for Cisco to properly see. None of that matters though as Cisco rushes to where Wally is splayed out on the ground. The young hero groans when he turns him over, but his eyes flutter open, widening in surprise as he registers Cisco's presence.

"What are you doing here?" He asks and Cisco shakes his head because he has no idea why Barry brought him here. Why not Ronnie, with his powers, or Caitlin, with her medical knowledge? Why him, when he has nothing to offer in aid?

Instead of answering, he pulls out his phone and dials Caitlin's number, flinching as above them glass shatters. He risks a glance up and for a split second his eyes meet Eobard's, countless emotions traveling between them before Barry barrels into the other speedster and the air around them dissolves into chaos again.

"Caitlin, I need you down on Fifteenth and Central as soon as possible." He says as soon as the line connects.

Caitlin sounds out of breath when she answers, an uncharacteristic curse falling from her lips as a horn blares in the background. "We're already on the way; it's all over the news."

Cisco breathes a sigh of relief. "Wally's hurt."

Wally makes a noise of protest, but Cisco ignores him, pushing him back down when he tries to rise. "I can fight." The speedster insists, but Cisco shakes his head.

"You got knocked out and your staying put." He snaps back. "You're not going to end up in a coma again."

"I see you." Caitlin cuts in before Cisco can go on and Cisco scans around before catching sight of her running toward them with a medical bag clutched to her chest.  She jumps back as Barry and Eobard go whirling past before sprinting the remaining distance between them, Iris close on her heels.

It suddenly occurs to Cisco why Eobard targeted Wally, why he chose to do so in such a public place, but before he can warn her, a tornado of lightning surrounds the elder West child, cutting her off from Caitlin.

"BARRY!"

The scream cuts through the chaos around them as Barry and Eobard break apart. The younger speedster is thrown out of sight and Cisco's moving before he even knows what he's going to do, something swelling like a hurricane in his chest as Eobard turns toward Iris.

He's going to be too late, he knows it in his bones, but he simply sprints harder, uncaring of the glass from shattered car windows that cuts into his feet. There's a blur of movement in front of him and then Iris is falling, eyes wide as blood blooms across her chest.

"NO!" He isn't sure who screams it, Barry or himself, but suddenly the pressure in him releases, a shockwave bursting from the hand that he has outstretched toward Iris. The building across from him groans with the fore of the blast and every window around them explodes inward, lights flickering out throughout the entire city. It catches Eobard full on in the chest as well, sending him flying into the side of a taxi as car alarms blare to life.

He doesn’t spare him a glance, closing the distance to Iris instead as Barry skids to her side. When he takes her into his arms, she lets out a pained gasp that causes pain to flare in Cisco's chest, but instead of fading, the pain intensifies, radiating through his whole body as he falls to his knees.

He looks down at where his hands meet the asphalt and realizes that they're being replaced by golden light, a soft "Oh" falling from his lips.

"Cisco?"

He turns his head and nearly flinches when he realizes that he'd fallen a few yards away from Eobard. The speedster looks stricken, eyes tracking over Cisco's face as his body begins to shake.

"What's happening to me?" He asks, voice small as Barry begins to sob over Iris' unmoving body.

"You used too much energy." Eobard tells him, voice infinitely gentle. "You're powers are eating you from the inside out."

Huh, that's why it feels like he's being stabbed.

 "Why did you kill her?" He asks, but he knows the answer before he even finishes speaking. The only reason Barry would change the timeline is if someone he loves is taken from him and Barry Allen cannot live in a world without Iris West.

He lets himself fall fully to the ground, eyes leaving Eobard as he looks toward Barry. The other speedster is still sobbing, tears tracking down his cheeks as he shakily gets to his feet. He doesn’t look at Cisco or Eobard or any of the others, gaze set on the horizon before he's gone with the clap of the sound barrier being broken. Cisco watches for a moment, eyes tracking Barry each time that he passes through Central, before a sound to his left causes him to look over.

He meets Eobard's gaze as the speedster pulls himself to his side, the sound of Caitlin's scream as she sees him on the ground fading into the background.

"I guess I'm not that great of a hero if I accidentally kill myself the first time I use my powers." He jokes and Eobard shushes him, a hand coming up to stroke his hair.

"Barry will reset the timeline." He reminds him as Cisco bites back a pained gasp. It won't keep him from dying, not in this timeline, but he finds that he doesn’t mind all that much. If the next time he opens his eyes, he's back in a world where Dante is alive, then he'd die a thousand times just to make that possible.

It's with this thought that he closes his eyes, letting everything fade to the background as the feeling of Eobard petting his hair becomes the focal point of his existence. Then that fades away too and all that's left is black.

…

When he opens his eyes, he knows that Barry succeeded before he even registers the whitewash walls of his apartment. He reaches for his phone immediately, fingers dialing Dante's number by memory before he presses it to his ear. It rings and rings before going to voicemail, tears springing to his eyes as the recording of Dante's voice echoes through the speaker. After the beep, he breathes for a moment to gather himself and asks to meet up for drinks sometime, offering to pay despite the fact that he doesn't even know if Dante's in town or not.

It doesn’t matter though, because his brother is alive and he hits the end call button as a sob crawls up his throat. He stays like that for a long time, tears traveling down his face at the pure relief that floods through him.

It's only an incoming text from Barry that pulls him back to reality. Apparently Joe has a new partner and Barry hates his guts, the pure offence that Barry manages to convey in a single message making him laugh through the last of his tears.

'I'm sure he's not that bad.' He shoots back before he gets up and rummages through his closet for something to wear. Instead of countless tailored suits, he's greeted with graphic tees and flannel button ups and he chooses a yellow Star Trek shirt and his favorite pair of jeans, contentment flooding through him.

He arrives at work and spends the day bantering with Barry back and forth over a new project that he's working on for the task force and if he notices the shadow of sorrow in Barry's eyes he doesn’t comment. Maybe he should let Barry know that he remembers the other timeline, but he doesn’t want to break the fragile peace they seem to be existing in.

Then Iris arrives and kisses Barry in greeting, an arm looped through the speedster's as she drags him out of Cisco's lab for a date. Cisco follows them out and texts Caitlin so they can meet up for lunch. He picks the bistro that he and Eobard had had lunch at in the other timeline and shrugs when Caitlin asks about how he found the little whole in the wall restaurant.

It's as they're ordering their entrees that he glances to the side and catches sight of a familiar silhouette outside. He excuses himself with an explanation that he needed to use the restroom and breaks into a jog once he's out of sight. Eobard is gone by the time Cisco gets outside and he ends up turning in a circle as he scans the countless faces around him. When a few minutes pass, he goes back inside and joins Caitlin in waiting for their food.

They talk about everything and nothing, Caitlin asking about his family and pulling him into a debate on the difference between eggshell and pearl white. In the back of his mind, he knows that she and Ronnie are getting married in a few months, but the reality of it still throws him for a loop.

Then he realizes that despite the fact that Barry didn't save Nora, Eobard never replaced Harrison Wells. There'd be no point now that Barry knows of the deception, meaning that Eobard could very well still be out there.

Cisco spends the rest of the day in an anticipatory limbo, the knowledge of where Eobard might be itching at him. A quick google search tells him that while Harrison Wells and his daughter, Jesse, do reside in Central City, it's not in the mansion that Cisco remembers. Apparently Wells wanted to live closer to the beach in remembrance to his late wife.

When he arrives to the mansion, he doesn't bother knocking, letting himself in as he scans the entry hall. Everything is different than he remembers, a mix of the technological paradise that he'd turned it into and the minimalistic elegance that Eobard had preferred. Then something on the mantel of the fireplace catches his eye, chest aching at the sight of the miniature Time Sphere that he'd built in the last timeline.

"Don't break it," Eobard's voice is laced with amusement as he enters the room and Cisco nearly drops it as he jumps. "It's the only one that exists."

By the time he has the Sphere back on the mantle place, Eobard is at his side, a hand coming up to cup his face. Cisco nearly flinches from the gesture, but whatever is coiling in the air between them keeps him still, a sigh falling from his lips as he leans into the other man's palm.

"I believe you and I have never been properly introduced." Eobard continues with a smile. "I am Eobard Thawne."

"I know who you are." Cisco replies, cutting off whatever Eobard is about to say by dragging him into a kiss. "Don't think this means I forgive you."

Eobard chuckles, breath huffing against his lips. "Of course not."

Whatever else there is to say is left for another time

**Author's Note:**

> And that's the end! Thank you so much for reading and don't be afraid to leave a comment on what you thought.


End file.
